Republican mayor refuses to rename Lake Ontario
Republican mayor rejects Trump’s Lake Ontario name change
Robert Corradino is the Republican mayor of Oswego, N.Y., a city on the southeastern shore of Lake Ontario. He says the body of water is central to his community’s identity and the city’s decision not to follow U.S. President Donald Trump’s directive to rename the lake ‘Lake America’ is one his constituents ‘overwhelmingly’ support.
While Apple and Google maps may now show Lake Ontario as “Lake America” south of the border, a Republican mayor whose city sits on the lake’s southeastern shore says he isn’t following suit.
Robert Corradino, mayor of Oswego, N.Y., says people who live in his community feel “a deep connection” to the body of water.
“We feel in a lot of ways, it really identifies us,” he told CBC News. “A lot of people are passionate about it here in our community and elsewhere.”
Corradino said Trump’s executive order renaming the lake at the end of last month prompted a slew of emails and calls to Oswego’s city hall from concerned citizens.
“Even out in the public, I was out at a local hardware store this weekend and that’s all anybody wants to talk about, was how crazy it was that somebody wanted to change the name of Lake Ontario.”
Corradino said Oswego has felt the impact of the trade war, with a dwindling number of Canadian tourists coming through.
“It affects our restaurants, our museums, all of our businesses. really, if you think about it.”
Other local leaders, business owners and residents in border towns of upstate New York who have seen tourism traffic plummet since last year have also expressed fears that the fallout from the trade tensions is only going to get worse.